Nokia and Motorola to work together on mobile TV technology

Motorola and Nokia, the two fiercest competitors in the mobile phone market, have shaken hands on an agreement to speed-up interoperability amongst DVB-H-enabled mobile devices and services.

Both the heavyweights will support open DVB-IPDC standards that are available for companies developing and offering multi-vendor mobile TV services.

The agreement came about because of information from Informa that the mobile TV market is set for explosive growth between now and 2010. Mobile phone manufacturers and mobile TV content providers stand to make lots of money quickly if they can roll out the technology rapidly.

In a statement, Nokia and Motorola said that “the availability of interoperable DVB-H enabled devices and services is a key factor in further opening up the market”.

DVB-H technology supports high-service level quality, low battery consumption, and the ability to receive broadcasts while using other mobile services, like telephony, at the same time.

Consumers have been slow to embrace services like mobile TV, but new offerings from mainstream mobile phone content providers like Virgin Mobile, which launched a new mobile TV service last week, mean that people are more aware of what’s available to them.